Miss Mijares is a thirty-four-year-old woman who works at a job placement agency. The first encounter of the two characters is at the job interview.

We see this as the story is wholly in her point of view, although it is in the third person limited omniscient, and never in any of the other character’s point of views. We know that the story is in the third person as the text refers to Miss Mijares as ‘she’, the Carpenter as ‘he’ and so forth but never ‘I said’.

Conflicts. This conflict refers to Miss Mijares. With the man triggering her curiosity and piquing her interest, Miss Mijares thought about giving in to love or not. This symbolizes the common man.

Feminist approach defines the revelation of a woman’s real desires and struggles in the society. The word “virgin” that the author talked about in the short story refers to those who are, of course, pure and unstained.

 The virginal state of Miss Mijares In the Filipino cultural context, virginity (or chastity) for unmarried woman is virtuous. This is shown as she reflects on her virginal state “with a mixture of shame and bitterness and guilt”.

Miss Mijares was a 34-year-old woman who works in the placement section of an agency. In the story, she was described as impolite and bossy when it comes to dealing with job applicants. I can also infer that she routinely lives her life in discipline making her life dull.

Kerima Polotan-Tuvera’s “The Virgin” is a short account that is centered on two character types namely Miss Mijares and The Carpenter. The title “The Virgin” reflects the niche virginity which can be an important and cherished benefit for Filipinos.

1952

Summary: This is a story about the real life of the author during her childhood. She had narrated several reasons why the dike have cracked and had caused thousands of people to move out of their homes and find another shelter just to secure themselves.